


Just Like Heaven

by orphan_account



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Eventual Smut, F/F, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Like Maybe 10 Years, Perfectly Legal Though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:57:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Cosima Niehaus was a nice girl, she got good grades, and was pretty much a model student. To her father she was the golden girl, always getting her homework done, helping people when it was needed, and managing to stay out of trouble. To her stepmother however, she was a druggie that was most likely bringing down the house prices in the neighborhood enough to make it imperfect. To her new neighbor, she was like a godsend and the little thought in the back of her mind she didn't even realize caused the majority of her happiness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Cosima and the fishes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2269311) by [Saffello](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saffello/pseuds/Saffello). 



_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

Cosima groaned as her alarm clock went off. It wasn't that she didn't want to start her day, it was just that she was pretty sure her dad was working late. If that was so, it meant that either her stepmother was going out for book club or staying home with a glass of wine and maybe inviting over a couple of the bitchy soccer moms that lived on her street. The last couple of times they were over, Cosima made sure not to linger around them, always catching the glares and dirty looks. It wasn't like those were what hurt, it was the fact that they'd openly talk about things that her stepmother knew were very close to her heart. Things like feminism, which none of them believed, LGBT rights, which hurt because her stepmother knew damn well that Cosima was out, and drugs like marijuana, which she believed worked just as well for her as any antidepressant.

"Cosima, honey, it's time to get up." Cosima's father, Gene said with a smile. "Come on, the quicker you get up and out of here, the quicker I can and the quicker I can get home."

"You'll still be out most of the night." Cosima said and Gene put a hand on his daughter's back. "I don't want to get stuck in here with her all night."

"Good thing she's got gossip club tonight." Gene said, causing Cosima to chuckle. "It's at the Hendrix house tonight, meaning you'll have the house to yourself."

"Thank god." Cosima said getting up. Gene left her and she started to get ready, walking straight to her bathroom. She turned on her shower and started stripping, taking a second to look at the bit of muscle she'd gotten since taking gym. Technically she was supposed to take her freshman year, but it'd been full and then the thought slipped her mind, at least until she saw her schedule for the first time last week. Despite the fact that most of the muscle had been gained from her working out here and there over the summer, she hadn't begun to notice until she took gym, so she allowed that class to have the credit. Besides, she was certain that she'd never actually had a workout so intense as her fifth period.

By the time she'd gotten out of the shower, her father had managed to get tea made for her. She could smell it in her room, which was one of the perks of being right below the kitchen, she could always smell whatever was and had been made. As she picked out her outfit, she noticed that her most worn jeans that started to get rips in the seams. She'd have to bring those to Alison who seemed to always be able to fix her wardrobe functions with ease. She went to a pair of black joggers, knowing that they'd complete her outfit nicely. She pulled her tank top on and then went upstairs to get breakfast and find her shoes. She brushed her teeth at the sink like every morning, much to her stepmother's disapproval and then grabbed a package of pop tarts, the lunchbox her father had packed for every single day since her mother's death, and then got onto her bike.

She was one of the few seniors who didn't have access to a car or a liscense. Normally she rode her bike to the train station, hopped on a train, and then rode the next quarter mile on her bike. She'd always stand near the back, in the summer it was cooler and in the winter is was warmer, not to mention she wasn't really ever in anybody's way back there. There would always be a couple of other people with bikes on the train, most of them either in high school or college students. Occasionally she'd talk with one of them, but most of the time she kept her mouth shut and kept to herself. As the train got to her stop, she kicked up her kickstand and turned her bike towards the door. Once she was out of the station, she got back on her bike and rode towards school.

Like always, things were easy. She spoke with her friends, a quiet boy named Scott and his equally geeky, but slightly more athletic friend who'd been calling himself Hellwizard since he was in fifth grade. They planned a little game night at Scott's for next Sunday, starting whenever Cosima's stepmother left for church. Cosima's final period came with both relief and dread, her school day was coming to an end, but it was gym and they were running their miles, which meant that she really had to make sure she had her inhaler on her.

Gym went by without any asthma attacks, which was extremely lucky for Cosima, but the ride over to the train was another story. She was certain that she'd be late since they left the track exactly when school ended, so Cosima rode her bike faster than she was aware her legs could move. By the time she'd made it onto the train, which was literally a second before the doors closed, and made it to the back, she felt a familiar feeling. She started coughing, the lack of breath choking her. She reached for her inhaler, which she couldn't find for a few seconds, installing a new panic, but luckily a bit before she was about to pass out, she found it and used it.

"You okay?" Cosima turned to see none other than Beth Childs sitting across from her, a look on concern on her face replacing the normal one.

"Y-yeah." Cosima said, stuttering due to an oncoming cough. "I'm fine."

"I didn't know you rode this train." Beth said moving back to sit with her. "How far do you live?"

"Bailey Downs." Cosima said and Beth smirked. "Where are you going?"

"Bailey Downs, I've got an English project to finish with Alison." Beth said and Cosima nodded. "Did you finish yours?"

"I didn't take English 4." Cosima said and Beth looked at her, as if it weren't possible for anybody to take different classes. "Mythology and Creative Writing."

"Ah, those always seemed stressful." Beth said and Cosima shrugged.

"If you know the material for Myth it's easy." Cosima said kicking up her kickstand again. "Almost our stop."

"I know, I've ridden before." Beth said and Cosima nodded. They got off the train together, Cosima riding slowly along Beth as they walked down the street. Alison's house was three houses to the left and across the street from Cosima's, she's practically memorized it from the amount of times that she'd been forced to go over for the, luckily, brief youth book club. Cosima opened her front door and immediately noticed Connie Hendrix sitting on the couch with a cup of tea across from her stepmother and some other bitches.

"Cosima, nice to see you made it home safely." Her stepmother said and Cosima didn't say anything to her. She made her way to the kitchen, happy that she was out of earshot from everybody in the living room. She grabbed something to drink and then went upstairs to what was technically her bedroom. She looked around the room that she hadn't really been in for the longest time, except for to occasionally have a smoke. She sat on the windowsill and pulled out a joint, glancing out the window at the house across the street. A truck pulled in and a blonde woman immediately got out from the driver's seat before opening up the back and pulling out a box. She brought it inside and then went back out to get more boxes. Cosima wasn't sure if it was the weed that had given her a bit of courage or the fact that she was wanting an excuse to be out of the house for a bit, but she climbed out from her window and walked over to her neighbor's house.

"Um, do you want some help?" Cosima asked and the woman looked up from where she was sitting in front of the truck. "I-I'm Cosima, I live across the street."

"Delphine." The other woman said and Cosima shook her hand, helping her up. "Um, if you wouldn't mind, but I don't want to make you feel you have to."

"I have no problem helping you. I mean, it beats being stuck in a room full of suburban bitches that like chatting about why being gay is wrong." Cosima said, a nervous smile on her face. "So, what brings you to the neighborhood?"

"I had to move." Delphine said and Cosima nodded. "France was becoming too much for me. What's keeping you here?"

"I'll tell you when I find out." Cosima said and Delphine nodded, a soft smile on her face. They began moving the rest of the boxes, luckily there weren't a whole lot which made Cosima wonder how one person could live in one of these houses alone. It wasn't that the neighborhood was unsafe, just that the houses were made for families and occasionally that was evident when you walked through them.

"I'm assuming that gardening is a big part of this community." Delphine said motioning at the small garden that'd been kind of planted by the previous owner and Cosima nodded. "Shame I've never actually tried."

"Yeah, but I mean, I'd totally help you out. I'm free this Sunday." Cosima said and Delphine looked at her funny. "What?"

"You're from across the street." Delphine said and Cosima nodded. "Your mother seems to be quite religious and I've only said a couple of words to her."

"She's my stepmother and the, force it down your throat type of woman." Cosima said and Delphine nodded, pouring herself a glass of wine. She set one down in front of Cosima and then sat down. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem, my father sends down a few bottles of alcohol from France every month or so." Delphine said and Cosima took a drink. "He makes it himself."

"It's not bad, definitely better than the stuff they have at parties." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. "So, what do you do, like for a living if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, I'm an Immonologist at the DYAD Institute." Delphine said and Cosima nodded. "It's kind of sketchy, but it's an absolutely amazing opportunity."

"I want to go to college and study Evolutionary Development." Cosima said and Delphine smiled. "So, like, did you get a Ph.D?"

"Yes actually, a bit before settling down here with my new position." Delphine said and Cosima nodded. They talked for a bit longer, Cosima noticed the women scatter from her house and her father's car pulled into the driveway. Delphine walked her halfway across the street before going out for a run and that night Cosima decided she'd actually sleep in her room. The one that she hadn't really ever had a full night's sleep in since her stepmother moved in, where she had all of these memories and painful reminders of her mother. The room that her father hadn't taken a step in since Cosima was a little girl, the room that she forced herself to sleep in when her dad met that ungrateful bitch living with them.

"Honey, where were you?" Gene asked and Cosima pointed over across the street. "What were you doing at the Evans' old house?"

"Oh, um, a girl moved in and I was helping her." Cosima said and Gene smiled. "How was it?"

"Great, really productive." Gene said and Cosima sat down on the couch across from his chair and grabbed the bottle of wine on the table before taking a swig from the bottle. "When'd you pick up drinking?"

"It's actually quite easy." Cosima said and Gene chuckled as she once again went through the motions of picking up the bottle and taking a drink. It was soon interrupted by the shrill voice of Cosima's stepmother.

"Gene, you shouldn't be promoting her to drink. She's still under the age." She said and Cosima rolled her eyes.

"I think I know how to raise my own daughter Kathleen." Gene said and Cosima smirked. What did Kathleen know about raising children? Besides, Cosima had never been in any real trouble, there were small things, but there were worse things that she could have done or gotten herself into. "Why don't you head to bed sweetheart, it's late and you have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, night dad." Cosima said getting up. She went to her upstairs room and turned on the light, immediately changing into a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top. She looked out the window briefly and caught a very interesting sight, Delphine changing out of her running clothes. Cosima turned out her light and laid on her bed before figuring it was helpless and sitting by her window and lighting up. She glanced out the window and Delphine's house and noticed that she hadn't gone to bed yet and seemed to be doing an awful lot of pacing around her room. After the joint was out, Cosima laid on her bed and fell right to sleep, oddly enthusiastic about the day to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Cosima looked at the roller blades sitting on the garage floor and decided on those. Normally she rode her bike, but today felt different, today felt good. She managed to leave before Kathleen or her father woke up, giving her more than enough time to get to Sarah's for breakfast. Technically she'd have to ride the train to Sarah's and then another one to school, but she didn't completely mind. Especially since there was a cute girl that rode the train to Sarah's. She was around Cosima's age, probably a bit younger, but not by much if Cosima was certain. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead." Cosima said letting a woman and her child get onto the train. She wasn't sure where to sit, so she stood towards the back of the train. A second before the door shut, the girl got on and walking towards the back sitting a few feet away from Cosima.

"You can sit down, this normally doesn't get packed until later." The girl said and Cosima sat next to her. "I'm Shay."

"Cosima." They shook hands and Shay smiled at her, making Cosima feel a bit more at ease. "So, where do you go to school?"

"The military academy, it's really just a really strict public school with extra physical education if I'm being honest." Shay said and Cosima nodded. "We're always looking for new people, if you're interested."

"Yeah, that wouldn't really be good for me." Cosima said and Shay nodded. "I almost died yesterday from an asthma attack."

"Oh, that's not good." Shay said and Cosima's phone vibrated, most likely being her father. "Aren't you gonna check it?"

"No, I know what it is." Cosima said and Shay nodded. "Where is your stop?"

"Well, that depends on how far I wanna walk." Shay said and Cosima nodded. "I have to get a certain amount of steps in before they check today, so I might get off sooner."

"Oh, well, my stop is coming up next, so I should probably get ready." Cosima said and Shay stood up. The train stopped and the two of them got off of it, Cosima not minding the company on her half mile walk to Sarah's. Technically it was longer than if she'd waited another stop, but she wasn't in the mood to walk up the bigger stairs. "So, um, which way are you?"

"My school is about a mile and a half that way." Shay said pointing in the direction of Sarah's house. "There's a shortcut this way, but normally it means I have to walk by this asshole that used to go to my school Paul's house."

"Dierden?" Cosima asked and Shay nodded. "Yeah, he transferred over to mine. Real nice guy, top quality human being right there."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Shay said and Cosima looked down. "He tried to get me kicked out, actually succeeded at the academy, which is how I got myself here."

"How?" Cosima asked, expecting a wild story or something.

"He believed it was wrong for gays to be at the academy." Shay said and Cosima rolled her eyes. They continued their walk, chatting about things until Cosima got to Sarah's house around 7. She knocked twice before seeing a half-dressed Helena at the door.

"Hey, is Sarah awake?" Cosima asked and Helena stepped aside and let her in. She immediately saw Sarah sitting on the floor with her six month old baby. "Hey there Kira."

"She's been bloody crazy all night." Sarah said and Cosima sat down on the floor next to them. "Doesn't help that I've got the uber bitch over here to catch me up on my work and credits."

"You could have asked for me." Cosima said, knowing that most of the like ten advanced kids were helping out the flunking or "struggling" students. "I mean, Helena and I are making great progress. Honestly, I wouldn't mind trading if Rachel and Helena were okay with it."

"Helena won't come in the house when Rachel's over, she hates her." Sarah said and Kira perked up at the mention of Rachel's name. "This one however, doesn't want to shut up unless Rachel's in the same room which is weird because normally she makes me want to cry from hatred."

"Hurry up!" Felix yelled from his room. Sarah went to the basement to get dressed as Helena pulled a tank top over her cargo pants. When everybody was ready, Sarah drove, which was a rarity, especially since normally S used the car for her daily business.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Hey there wheezy." Gene said as Cosima stepped into the house, wheezing. "I see you left your bike, almost dropped it off, but then I noticed your blades were gone."

"Forgot... how much... work and... breath it took." Cosima said in between pants. She laid down on the couch, not bothering to look at the woman sitting on the love seat with a glass of wine and a bit of bread. "At least I'm not sick."

"Thank god for that." Gene said and Cosima rolled over onto the floor. "Cosima, have you met Delphine?"

"Yeah, I was over yesterday, why do you ask?" Cosima asked opening her eyes and seeing Delphine in her house. "Oh, hey, sorry about all of that."

"I'm just impressed you managed it all with your skates on." Delphine said and Cosima shrugged, as if to say how amazing she is. "I can barely stand up, I am much too clumsy with those."

"I'll teach you sometime, it's really easy when you get the hang of it." Cosima said and Gene handed her a glass of wine. "Thanks daddio."

"No prob bob." Gene said and Delphine could see for what seemed like the millionth time where Cosima got most of her personality. "So, Delphine was telling me that she's a scientist at the new DYAD place."

"Yeah, I know, she told me yesterday." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. "I've got a field trip there for the science class I'm tutoring this semester, it's gonna be pretty lit."

"I can give you a tour later, if you'd like to get an edge on the children?" Delphine offered, a bit of a joking tone. "It's really amazing, we've got brilliant minds there."

"Maybe I should arrange something like that for one of my classes. There aren't enough field trips for my college classes." Gene said and Cosima looked at her phone. "I remember this one complaining when she'd sit in on my lectures."

"Yeah, in all of my years spent there, you maybe went out like twice." Cosima said and Delphine took a sip of her wine. "Is Kathleen home?"

"No she is not." Gene said and Cosima got out a pipe from her bag. "Do you have to do that in the living room?"

"She's not here and it's fun to hear her try to figure out what the smell is." Cosima said lighting up. "Want some?"

"No, I'll stick to cigarettes." Delphine said and Cosima nodded. "Not many parents are okay with their children dabbling in drugs. You seem to have a very relaxed approach to parenting, it seems to work better than other ones I've seen."

"I just try to apply the values and things that her mother had always wanted." Gene said and Cosima started coughing. You could see pure fear flash across Gene's face for a second before calming down after realizing it was just the smoke. "Are you tired?"

"A little bit." Cosima said yawning. "But this is the second asthma attack in two days."

"Lay off it for a couple of months." Gene said and Cosima nodded. "I think I have a night class in a bit, bye honey."

"Bye dad." Cosima said as Gene got up. "You can stay and we can like, talk."

"I'll talk to you later Delphine." Gene said and Delphine nodded. Once he was gone Cosima turned to Delphine, sitting up completely.

"So, how do you like the neighborhood?" Cosima asked as a car pulled up. "Why don't we go to the basement, Kathleen's home and she's really damn unpleasant."

"Sure." Delphine said following Cosima down the stairs. They sat down on the couch near each other, but keeping a bit of space. "About the neighborhood, it seems to be okay, a bit homophobic, but nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"That sucks, I mean, I've had it pretty bad, especially since Kathleen kind of keeps me stuck in a closet and then you have all of the bitches around here like Ms. Hendrix always breathing down my back about all types of bullshit." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. "So, about that tour..."

"You go to Scarborough right?" Delphine asked and Cosima nodded. "I can pick you up tomorrow from here at around 10, when I normally leave for work."

"Yeah, thanks." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. "So, how'd you know that seniors don't have school on Fridays?"

"Your father mentioned that you were a senior and all of the senior tours had to be rescheduled from Friday to Tuesday." Delphine said and Cosima nodded.

"So, how difficult is it to learn French?" Cosima asked and Delphine shrugged. "Oh yeah, you came out speaking it."

"It is my native tongue." Delphine teased and Cosima blushed lightly as Delphine's hand fell onto her arm. "Actually my father spoke English natively, so I learned those at the same time."

"Oh, well, I've always loved pictures of France and I like learning things, so I thought, why not learn?" Cosima said and Delphine nodded.

"Maybe one day, I can bring you." Delphine said without thinking. "It's really pretty there, but here, I think it's gorgeous."

"You live in a suburban nightmare." Cosima said and Delphine pointed in the direction of her house. "Oh, I assume you've found the nooks and crannies."

"No, I have not." Delphine said and Cosima clapped her hands together. "I assume you wish to show me."

"Yeah, I used to crawl around them all the time. All of the houses are different, but I do remember most of the ones over there." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. There was shrill yelling that could be heard and Cosima assumed that Kathleen had found the baggie she hadn't realized she'd left on the couch until it was too late. "Wanna get out of here for a bit?"

"Okay." Delphine said and Cosima followed her to her house. Immediately Cosima started to show her the bigger nooks that with a bit of effort, could easily be found. It wasn't until they both attempted to get in one that would have been a bit tight for just Delphine that they actually got stuck in one.

"A bit awkward." Cosima said and Delphine nodded. They stayed in there for what seemed like forever until Cosima had started to get a bit sweaty and managed to shimmy out of the nook. "I should be getting home soon, my dad should be calling in like, 30 minutes."

"Okay, well, goodbye for today Cosima." Delphine said and Cosima nodded, sprinting off to her house, sneaking into the basement and laying in her bed, slowly drifting off to sleep, Delphine invading her thoughts.


End file.
